S&CO Inc. Purchases 3,005 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

S&CO Inc. lifted its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,820 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares during the quarter. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $3,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 11.3% in the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 517.6% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 46,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,820,000 after buying an additional 39,082 shares during the period. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $819,000. YCG LLC boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. YCG LLC now owns 178,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,068,000 after buying an additional 9,619 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 37.1% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,411,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,776,000 after buying an additional 381,860 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $164.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $1,967,134.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $1,967,134.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,578 shares in the company, valued at $728,598.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $126.06. 2,203,000 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,790,598. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.22 and a 52-week high of $204.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $140.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.86. The company has a market cap of $45.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.07.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

Estée Lauder Companies Company Profile

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.